Oxygen release compound as a chemical treatment for nutrient rich estuary sediments and water

Abstract

The objectives of this work were: (i) to evaluate the efficacy of Oxygen Release Compound (ORC®), oxygen providing agent that enhance the oxidation of organic matter in fresh water, marine water, and sediment; and (ii) to explore the potential aquatic toxicity that might be generated due to its use. A bench scale laboratory experiments were conducted using five different water sources (2 freshwater, 2 marine water and a deionised water). During the assay, flasks of 1 L capacity were dosed with artificial sediment and ORC® and kept at room temperature for 10 days. Temperature, pH, DO, UV254, TOC and Mg were periodically measured. The potential aquatic toxicity that might be generated as a by-product of ORC® use was performed. The experimental results reveal that ORC® is indeed effective in releasing oxygen over a long period of time and it is also effective for the remediation of natural waters enriched with organic matter. The toxicity test shows that ORC® treatment did not create any biological toxicity in freshwater samples (IC50 < 1 Toxicity Unit – TU). However, marine water samples reveal a high toxicity and had IC50 > 1 TU. The study proves that ORC® was an appropriate technology that can safely be used to treat natural waters enriched with nutrient and natural organic matter.